An NYPD helicopter pilot and a LaGuardia air traffic controller’s radio chatter about the attention-seeking couple who scaled the Empire State Building Wednesday has gone viral as a quintessentially New York City exchange.
“Yeah what’s all the hoopla going on over there?” the air traffic controller asked the pilot as the death-defying stunt got underway.
“Two geniuses climbed the Empire State Building to the top of the spire,” the NYPD pilot responded with mild contempt.
“Oh that’s awesome,” the LaGuardia air traffic controller responded.
“It’s not some worker changing a light, is it?” he asked.
“No, it’s a male and female dressed in black, they had some flag they were waving when they were up at the top and he just proposed to her,” the clearly unimpressed officer replied.
Angelina Nikolau, 33 and her beau Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, were both arrested after climbing the tower to unfurl a banner at the top of the 1,454-foot landmark.
Kuznetsov then dropped to one knee on a platform beneath the skyscraper’s spire and popped the question to Nikolau before descending into the arms of the NYPD.
The duo appeared in court July 2 and were given supervised release.
They’re facing charges including burglary, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, according to the criminal complaint.
